Mozzarella Meatballs In Tomato Sauce (Cheesy Meatballs)

Mozzarella Meatballs In Tomato Sauce are juicy and soft meatballs, simmered in a homemade tomato sauce and topped with melted mozzarella!

One of our favourite meatball recipes…Mozzarella Meatballs! So cheesy, filled with flavour, this is our family meatball recipe that makes THE MOST juiciest meatballs you’ve evertried.

WHO doesn’t love cheesy meatballs?

With my mother now working with us on Entice Films, the bonus of her being here with us is her cooking while we’re shooting. It’s a HUGE bonus. These meatballs happened while we were shooting our latest video for these Cinnamon Rolls, and we had no lunch planned. I mean, we COULDA eaten cinnamon rolls for lunch, but we didn’t wanna. We wanted REAL comfort food. Mamas cookin’.

Usually we don’t eat on shoot days, especially if filming desserts all day. Imagine being surrounded by food, and with all the cooking and shooting going on, there’s no eating going on! It’s a travesty I tell you! With my mother here though, this has now changed. As soon as she stops ‘working’, she’s pulling more ingredients out of the refrigerator to force feed us, as mothers do. Now there’s SO MUCH FOOD, we eat ALLLLL the food and Hello, fat pants.

After shooting those cinnamon rolls, these meatballs came at us with open arms and mouths. They looked so GOOD that I HAD to shoot them….THEN eat them and die a little from a taste coma.

Now normally we’re not big meatball fans, BUT she has a trick up her apron sleeves (or straps), that make these meatballs so moist and juicy and absolutely the best meatballs we’ve ever eaten. And we’ve eaten a fair amount.

My mother first told me how she gets her meatballs so soft and NOT DRY when I was a moody teenager and EW was my favourite word in the English dictionary. She uses bread soaked in milk instead of dry breadcrumbs. Yes. See? You are all going ‘EW’ too, am I right? But please don’t….. try these first before you pass judgement. BELIEVE ME, from one ew to another, these are awesome.

And of course I added all the cheese, because, well, why not have Mozzarella Meatballs?

Mozzarella Meatballs In Tomato Sauce are juicy and soft meatballs, simmered in a homemade tomato sauce and topped with melted mozzarella!

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 12meatballs (serves 4)

Calories: 233kcal

Author: Karina - Cafe Delites

Ingredients

MEATBALLS:

11/2sliceswhite bread, crust removed

1/4cupmilk

9-ounces| 250-grams ground beef(or minced beef)

9-ounces| 250-grams ground pork(minced pork)*

1small brown onion, finely chopped

2garlic cloves, minced

1egg

1/4cupfresh grated parmesan cheese

1teaspooneach of dried basil and oregano

1/4cupfresh parsley, finely chopped

1teaspoonbeef bouillon powder(or vegetable stock powder)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Tomato Sauce:

2tablespoonsolive oil, divided

1large brown onion, finely chopped

4garlic cloves, minced

1(24-ounce | 700-gram) bottle of tomato puree (or passata)

1/4cupwater

2tablespoonstomato paste

2teaspoonseach of dried basil and oregano

1teaspoonred chili flakes(optional)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Pinch of sugar(optional)

1 1/2cupsshredded mozzarella cheese

Fresh Basil or Parsley, chopped to garnish

Instructions

PREHEAT oven grill on medium high heat, or main oven to 430°F | 220°C.

Tear bread into small pieces and combine with the milk in a large bowl. Press the bread down into the milk to fully submerse and soak into the bread. Set aside.

While the bread is soaking, get all of your meatball ingredients chopped and ready. Combine all of the meatball ingredients in the bowl with the soaked bread, and mix well with your hands.

Roll about two tablespoons worth into one meatball and form into a ball. Repeat with remaining meatball mix.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large well-seasoned skillet or non stick pan over medium high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides until golden (they won't be cooked all the way through, but you will finish them off in the sauce). Transfer to a warm plate.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. Fry the onion until transparent (about 2 minutes), while stirring occasionally. Add in the garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir through the puree (or passata), water, tomato paste, herbs, chili flakes (if using), salt and pepper. Mix together well with a wooden spoon; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat down to low and taste test. Add in the sugar if needed.

Transfer the meatballs back into the sauce, along with any juices released from the meatballs on the plate.

Allow the meatballs to cook for a further 20 minutes, covered and still on low heat, while turning and stirring the sauce occasionally, until meatballs are cooked through.

Top with the mozzarella cheese; transfer to the oven and grill or bake on the middle shelf of your oven, until the cheese has melted and is bubbling.

Reader Interactions

Comments

I made this with my niece over the weekend and she loved helping to make the meatballs good for kids to learn about food. Was lovely dish for a family meal with have this again over the winter time. Thanks for the recipe.

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HEY Good Food Lovers! It’s nice to see you!

Welcome! My name is Karina and this is my internet kitchen hang-out where I cook, bake, take too many pictures and find something useful to say. A self-confessed balancedfoodie sharing waistline friendly recipes that are full of flavour. Life is too short for bland and boring. …